Rep. Kidd May Switch to GOP | Politics

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Georgia's only independent state legislator says he's thinking about switching to the Republican party.

Milledgeville's Rep. Rusty Kidd says he sent an email to state House Speaker David Ralston and majority leader Larry O'Neal, saying he wants to talk to them about moving to the GOP.

He said he plans to talk to them and make up his mind before the 2013 session starts in January.

On Tuesday, he won a third term by beating Democratic challenger Quentin Howell. That's the second time Howell has run against him.

"I've got no reason to give the Democratic Party the time of day after they spent $200,000 the last two years to beat me," said Kidd.

He said he'll decide whether to switch based on whether he thinks it will benefit the district, and he won't ask for anything in return from Republican leaders.

"People who know me know I don't play those kind of games," he said.

Kidd says he doesn't think he's breaking faith with his supporters, because local voters know he'll make the move only if it's to help the district.

Kidd has ties to both parties: His father, Culver Kidd, was a Demcratic state legislator for 40 years, but his sister, Tillie Kidd Fowler, was elected to Congress as a Republican.

The Associated Press reports that Kidd's switch would give Republicans a two-thirds "supermajority." That would let them overturn gubernatorial vetoes or send proposed constitutional amendments to voters without Democratic support.

They're currently one vote short.

Kidd represents House District 145, which includes all of Baldwin County and part of Putnam County.